Berklee Students to Honor George Martin with Performance of Original Scores

An orchestra of Berklee students and faculty will honor the legacy of Sir George Martin, the legendary producer of the Beatles, with George Martin: The Scores — A Live Immersive Experience. The event takes place Tuesday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. at Arrow Street Arts in Cambridge. 

The concert is inspired by the newly released book George Martin: The Scores from Curvebender Publishing, a three-volume set of original manuscripts and re-recordings of works from Martin’s personal collection that includes songs he composed with the Beatles and others. Berklee professor Suzanne Clark was an advisor for the collection, a project that started more than 10 years ago in collaboration with Martin before his death in 2016.

The show features over 20 students performing original George Martin scores, including iconic Beatles songs such as “Yesterday,” "Eleanor Rigby,” “Strawberry Fields Forever,” and “In My Life,” as well as “Old Boston,” a composition from his orchestral suite Three American Sketches. A short introduction will precede each piece, with a unique ensemble configuration playing each of the different compositions.

“For people that don’t know a lot about George Martin and his background, I think the show is going to be really fascinating,” said Berklee associate professor Xander Rovang, who will conduct the orchestra. “Martin had a really intense classical background, and that colored the Beatles sound in a way that would have never happened without him. I love that we are celebrating someone like Martin who had such a powerful influence but is still somewhat underappreciated for the incredible artist he was.”

George Martin: The Scores — A Live Immersive Experience is presented by Brian Kehew and Kevin Ryan, authors of the book. Learn more and purchase tickets.